Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Sugar Test

I don't have the sugar diabetes!  yay!  I will say that that drink is awful.  It was so hard to choke down, because I never drink stuff like that and I wasn't hungry or thirsty when I had to drink it.  So glad I do not have to do repeat the test.

The not so good news is that my hemoglobin levels are 9.8 which is pretty low.  My OB gave me some prescription iron to take, so I guess I will start that today.  I hope it gives me more energy though my energy levels are so much higher than they were in the first trimester.   I had a sneaking suspicion it was low, because I have been craving ice like crazy.

My next u/s is March 22nd and I will be 28 weeks then.  I can't wait to sneak another peak!

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Fetal Hiccupping

24 weeks today!  I can't believe I haven't seen the doctor in a month.  This is the longest spell without any medical monitoring I've had in a looong time.  Lately, the baby has been hiccupping like crazy.   Almost everytime I eat and drink and then when I get up at night to pee and get back in bed and lay down, he hiccups.  And if I roll over to my other side during the night, he starts hiccupping.
Most of the stuff I have read on line says it's normal, but there was something about hiccups being correlated with cord compression.  But I would think it would be too early for the cord to be getting compressed.

 I also am really to get my iron level checked and my thyroid level.  The high risk clinic drew my blood to check it a month ago and then when I called for the results, they said that the sample they took got messed up which sucked because my arm hurt for 2 days after that damn blood draw.  I had forgotten to request the butterfly needle. Won't forget that again!

My FLOR carpet tiles came in yesterday and we put them together last night.  I love it!

My dresser made it, but it got delivered to my in-laws and we have to transport it over here, but it looks great and is very solid (will be hard to move).  My art is getting framed right now.   So in a couple of weeks, the nursery will be almost done!



That's all I have for this week.   I've enjoyed reading all the updates from all of you this past week.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

23 weeks

I am now on the edge of viability, but he has to stay tucked inside my belly for a much longer time.
Don't want to jinx anything - but everything seems to be going well so far.   I had little red bumps on my belly for a week and was worried that it might be the beginning of this horrible rash that 1% of pregnant women get called PUPPS http://whatispupps.com/PUPPSpictures.php  But thank god, it went away today.
Not too much to tell.  I've been working a bunch at my husband's law office.  Learning quickbooks, so I can keep up with the book-keeping.  I never actually balance my checkbook, so this is a new thing for me!

We had painters paint the nursery today and it looks so great!  Wickham Gray by Benjamin Moore - very light, warm soft gray.  I'll post some pics once I get some furniture in it.  My Land of Nod dresser should be arriving soon.  It is on a truck between here and Austin, Texas.  Apparantly, their driver does a big Southern loop and will call me when he gets close by and will deliver the dresser to the room of my choice and it will be fully assembled!  I am so excited about the fully assembled part, because my husband and I tend to get in fights when we try to put stuff together.  

My favorite part of the day is when I settle down at night to read and Baby W starts doing gymnastics.  He is getting stronger and bigger.  I have gained 6 lbs in the last 3 weeks.  Food tastes so good to me now.  I am craving everything!

I have been reading a memoir written by a California midwife called Babycatcher.   I wish I could have a midwife and a waterbirth at a birthing center, but there is no such thing in Mississippi.
My friend from Colorado who is really into holistic medicine told me I should go to the Farm to my baby, a commune in Hohenwald, TN about 4 hours from here.  I definitely don't want to drive that far!  I have an appt with a doula next week.  My husband might not be the ideal childbirth coach.  He gets very anxious when I am sick or in pain.  He will probably happy to have someone else support me during labor and delivery.  I know I'm getting ahead of myself thinking about my birth plan, but it is all so interesting to me.  This incredible physcial feat of childbirth.  

I have been thinking about so many bloggers I follow that are either PUPO, newly pregnant or cycling right now and it is so exciting to read all the mostly positive updates that are coming in daily.  I found this blog post today and I thought I'd post the link, because I don't want to forget my roots and what we're all going through or have been through to get to this point.
http://gritandpatience.wordpress.com/2012/02/09/insulate-ignore-protect-and-proceed-how-ive-gotten-through-ivf-with-my-sanity-mostly-intact/

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Book Rec

21 weeks kind of snuck up on me.  Now that I am past 20 weeks I feel like I can let go of the reins a bit and just enjoy being pregnant.  The best thing about the last couple weeks is a major dropoff in bad headaches.  I've had a big surge in energy and am back to my usual self.  So far I have gained 12 lbs, seems crazy that I have around 20 more lbs to go.  I am gaining the weight more on my ass than my belly at this point.  Hello cellulite.   I ready Jenny McCarthy's Belly Laughs and her strategy was just not look at her behind in the mirror.  I think that is wise advice.

I read an article by Jewel in the OB's office and she recommended this book called Ever Since I Had My Baby: Understanding, Treating, and Preventing the Most Common Physical Aftereffects of Pregnancy and Childbirth by Roger Goldberg.  
This book talks alot on how to prevent or remedy urinary and anal (omg!) incontinence (and many other problems) that occurs after labor and delivery.

 I wanted to check out this book because I have a bladder disorder already called Interstitial Cystitis or "IC". Having IC makes me have urinary urgency and frequency and during flare-ups I feel like I have a UTI.   I manage it by diet.  I don't drink anything but water and milk.  I avoid spicy and acidic foods.  My IC has gotten a little better during pregnancy.  Apparantly there are estrogen receptors in the bladder and so the lining of the bladder is more coated during pregnancy.

However I have already noticed some leakage when I sneeze, which is often.  So I've started Kegels and am determined to get in a habit of doing them religiously.  This book really shows that not enough research has been done in this area of women's health, but C-sections are definitely not as damaging to the pelvic floor as going through a vaginal labor and delivery.   I don't want to have a C-section, but if it were to be indicated, avoiding pelvic floor injury would be a silver lining.  This book has brought up some food for thought and I will definitely be having a conversation with my OB about this topic and avoiding episiotomies and forceps if at all possible.

On another note,  my sister's friend's sister was scheduled to do a FET in Jan and she did not use condoms during the month she started lupron on day 21 of her cycle to prepare for her FET.  She thought there was no way she could get pregnant.  Well, she found out she was pregnant after she had taken lupron for several days and now she is on all this progesterone and estrogen support to prevent miscarriage.  I don't know all the details, but I don't think the importance of using birth control method to prevent pregnancy before IVF or FET is hammered in enough from the doctors and nurses.   A couple of days before my retrieval this summer, we had unprotected sex and found out that we should not have.  But no one gave us explicit instructions not too.  It ended up being fine, but still I think doctors and nurses need to give more instructions in this department.

Yay for February and all the ladies cycling here and yonder!  I hope everyone gets a positive beta and take home baby (ies).